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02 October 2013

United State Of America is Shutting Down...

Poor management of budget and eager to go to war maybe is some of the cause... We may become like them if the goverment fail to manage the upcoming budget properly...

The US Congress has failed to agree a budget by 1
October and a federal government shutdown has begun, sending more than
700,000 federal workers home and closing down national parks, museums,
federal buildings and services.

Which key departments and agencies are affected?

Department of Defense

Military personnel on duty will not be affected

The nation's 1.4 million active-duty uniformed military personnel will stay on duty.
About half of the defence department's 800,000 civilian employees will have to stop work, but there is a blanket exception for activities that "provide for the national security".
But where employees are needed to work, they may have to do so without pay:
"Military and other civilians directed to work would be paid
retroactively once the lapse of appropriation ends," according to
Defence Department Comptroller Robert Hale.
President Barack Obama later told civilian employees that they deserved "better than the dysfunction we're seeing in Congress".

Department of Energy

Employees: 13,814 Due to work: 1,113 Staying at home: 12,701

Hydroelectric dams will be maintained

Most Department of Energy facilities will close, with only 1,113 out of 13,814 staff required to work.
Exemptions include staff overseeing the safety of the
nation's nuclear arsenal and operating dams and power lines across the
country.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees
the nation's nuclear weapons and naval reactor programmes, will have 343
employees on duty to "perform functions related to the safety of human
life and the protection of property".
More than 400 employees will stay on to work at the
Southwestern Power Administration and the Western Area Power
Administration, which are in charge of overseeing hydroelectric power
and power lines in the south and western US.
Some staff in other areas will remain at work to oversee "the protection of human life and property."

Department of Commerce

Employees: 46,420 Due to work: 6,186 Staying at home: 40,234

Weather and shipping reports will still be provided

Most of the department's
staff will remain at home. However, staff at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration will continue to report for duty to ensure
weather, shipping and other reports are still provided for public
safety.
Some of the workers at the Bureau of Industry and Security, which reviews exports, will also remain on duty.

Department of Transportation

Employees: 55,468 Due to work: 36,987 Staying at home: 18,481

Most air traffic control roles will not shut down

Transport roles run by the department,
ranging from air traffic control to airport and hazardous materials
inspections, will continue and 36,987 out of 55,468 personnel will
remain at work.
Staff involved in overseeing commercial space launches will
also continue operations - as at least one of a succession of launches
will occur between the end of September and the first week in October in
support of the International Space Station, according to the
department.
Suspended activities will include facility security
inspections, routine personnel security background investigations and
the employee drug testing program.

Smithsonian Institution

Employees: 4,202 Due to work: 688 Staying at home: 3,514

Animals at the National Zoo will still be fed

The National Zoo and 19 museums and galleries, including the
Natural History Museum, the Portrait Gallery and the Air and Space
Museum, would close.
Of the 4,202 employees, 688 will be retained to "protect life
and property" - security guards, maintenance staff and people to care
for and feed the animals at the National Zoo.
The Smithsonian Institution
says: "During a shutdown, the Institution cannot legally accept
voluntary services from federal employees to continue their regular
duties."

National Parks

Employees: 24,645 Due to work: 3,266 Staying at home: 21,379

National Parks will be closed

National parks - from Yosemite to Alcatraz and the Statue of
Liberty - will be shut down with 3,266 essential staff out of 24,645
remaining on duty. These will include some fire management, law
enforcement and emergency responders.
Day-use visitors will be instructed to leave the park
immediately and visitors using overnight facilities will be asked to
make alternative arrangements and leave.
Where possible, park roads will be closed and access denied.

Department of Homeland Security

Employees: 231,117 Due to work: 199,822 Staying at home: 31,295

Coast Guard operations will continue

About 86% of the Department of Homeland Security's
240,000 employees are expected to be exempt from the shutdown,
including uniformed agents and officers at the country's borders and
ports of entry.
Most members of the Coast Guard, Transportation Security
Administration, Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are
exempt.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services employees will continue to process green card applications.

Department of Justice

Employees: 114,486 Due to work: 96,744 Staying at home: 17,742

DEA agents will be exempt

Of 114,486 Department of Justice employees, an estimated 96,744 will be exempt from the shutdown.
All Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and support
personnel in the field will be exempt as their operations are focused on
national security and investigations involving protection of life and
property.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents working on active
counternarcotics investigations, agents in the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and US attorneys will be exempt.
Staff at federal prisons will also be expected to work.

Department of Health and Human Services

Employees: 78,198 Due to work: 37,686 Staying at home: 40,512

The annual flu programme will not be supported

The department will be sending home more than half its workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will continue
"minimal support to protect the health and well-being of US citizens".
However, fewer staff will mean reduced capacity to respond to outbreaks
and the agency will be unable to support its annual flu program.

Department of Education

Employees: 4,225 Due to work: 212 Staying at home: 4,013

Funding for schools, due this month, will be paid

About 212 of the department's
4,225 employees - both full and part-time - will be expected to work for
the first week. An additional 30 staff may be called in if the shutdown
lasts more than seven days.
Some $22bn of funding to schools, due on the 1 October, will
still be distributed. Among other things, this pays to help educate poor
and disabled children.

Environmental Protection Agency

Employees: 16,205 Due to work: 1,069 Staying at home: 15,136

Administrator Gina McCarthy said her department would effectively shut down with only a core group of individuals available in case of a "significant emergency".

US Postal Service
The self-funded US Postal Service
will remain open and deliver as usual. The agency receives no tax
dollars for day-to-day operations and relies on income from stamps and
other postal fees to keep running.